In the fourth game of the match World champion Hou Yifan had white pieces. As her opponent Humpy Koneru said at the post-game press-conference, White got an edge and was pressing throughout the game – she had to defend the position that was not pleasant for her. In the deep endgame White managed to win a pawn, but there were not many sources left for a fight – both players had a rook and a knight. The challenger defended this endgame well despite being short on time and the opponents agreed a draw. The game finished only at 8pm and this was the longest encounter of the match so far.

After 4 games World champion Hou Yifan is leading with 2,5 points. Humpy Koneru has 1,5.On the 19th of November the players have a rest day. The match will continue on the 20th of November. Hou Yifan will have white pieces again. The measure of changing the colors after the fourth game has a goal to prevent the same player to have white pieces after each of the rest days throughout the match because this might give her an advantage in preparation.

"Photos by Anastasiya Karlovich and Anna Burtasova with kind permission of FIDE”

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